Centrifugal pump



o1.21, 1952 E. RWILFLEY TAL 2,614,502

CENTRIFQGAL PUMP* INVENTORS: NQ) al) I ELMER R. wll-FLEY a i JOHN L-. ALDRED, `111 BY mud *W ATTORNEY Oct. 2l, 1952 E. R. wlLr-'LEY l-:TAL v CENTRIFUGAL PUMP 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 28 1949 INVENTORS: ER R. Il FLEY a L. A Ep, JR-f ATTQRNEY l man wm\^\\\\l\\\\\\\\\\\\. m. .N ff/4 A $7/ am W o AMX @E5 Wy Y Q ocbzl, 1952 E. R. wlLFLEY ETAL f 2,614,502

CENTRIFUQAL PUMP Filed sept. 28, 1949 5 sheets-sheet 3 INVENTO'RSI ELMER R. wlLr-'LEY a EJYoHN L. ALoReo, JR.,l

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ATTORNEY Patented ct. 21, Ii952 t y j o. CTIFUGAL PUMP .Etnici- R. Wilflcy-alod'John n. merca; Jfnancnvca; Colo., assignors to A. E. Wiliey and Sons, Inc.,

s. Denver, Colo.,'a'.corporation of- Colorado @sicarios stilistica 28,' rara-staar fraise This invention relates AtoA ceritfifugal In the installation of suchfpumps;difllcultiesare encountered especially wheny they mustI bef placed ina hemmed-in or crotvdedjenvironrnent, dueto the: fact that intakeA and discharg'ejpipe'rconnecf tions for thepuinp'must'be arranged" to" suit a pump in which the' intak`e, and the discharge necks are adjustable' to'suit individual localconditions and to'sirnplify thldispo's'ition'a'nd'arrangement'of the corresponding' lconiictions'l respect :to cach other' aspen as with rcsp'ectt 'the frame or base o'f the pumpg. *A o, v s. Y,

According to onc'fcaturcgtuc hujsine''compiiss an intermediate vertical annular frame' portion' rising from a baseandaipair of2 complementary housing portions inthfolm of vhall-shells' each of' which is fastem'elY to as res'pectiye ,side of ythe annular frame'portion. The onehalf-shellhav-l ing-'an inlet neck represents the intake portion el the" housirig'providingv an' annular' lovv` pressure chamber" at the-lov/'preSSure sident they The"'opposite halflshell'havingf a discharge neck represents the discharge o p'ortiolgiofd the housing and it provides the high pressure Achamberthat hilss the impeller! Bearing-means faiths im.: peller shaft extend' centrally klintouthe inletportion ofthe housing insealne vrlltilirlshil,1t1fl .1av 1.1 The inlet portion is rotationally adjustable` upon thev annular frame` portion about"y the bearing means,v so that thed inlet neck can be adjusted to a Seletd amsiular'posQn-- l c coordinato a more specific feature; the 'base or'casting is formed Withthe intermediate,anvnular frame portion as Well as With'sllpporting means for'the outerI end portion ci the impeller shaft, the inner end porti-on being'supportedby the adjustableintake Aportion of thefhousing'' It is an example" and in no limiting Vsense that the` improvements inthe construction of`v the pump housingarehrein 'shown tcl-be` embodied in-that class of centrifugal pump known as s'and pumps or slurry pumps which serve for handling corrosiveliquids or liquids` tional sealer stuffing box b'tweentheimpeller shaft and the intake portion 'of the pumphousing by. providing an annular valve member which normally closesan" annular' nonffrictional cle'eara ance' or gapbetween the impeller. shaftlanth'e housing while' the pump is not-running, This gap .is automatically opened' tx/lien.. thef"pump runningyandis again'closed'when the rotativ'nof the" impeller shaft Stops.` throughgthe annular; clearance iscounte'racted by ai suitable hydraulic'V sealing. pressure" created* by thertation'ofthepumpimpelleriitself;. i

Therefore;- this'. invention is" shownr herein" as embodied'i'n a sandpu'mp suchzas; exemplified in the patent to.Wi1e`y Noll1,976',532 .in which axially non-shiftableimpeller shaft is surrounded by .an annular sealing" valve member which is axially shiftable upon" the shaft'for openingor closing the annular gap' around kthe impeller shaft.y l

In"thispate`nt;`the operation' cr shiftingfoff the sealing" valve" memberv is effected' automatically by control mechanism whereby the valvemmber iationship' with thc' musing by" spring pressure when the' pumpi'is not operating." rWhen'"th'i'm pcuer shaft starts' rotatinggaiset ofA centrifuga Weight'mem'brs Iwill' operate i tor'etr'act the'valve memberi fronoifcsl` scar upon the" housing Y against mepressur'c' `cruce spring", the valve rnesto r'cjme'in -vopor; 'While' the-'pomp is running; message through 'the jannmarcmarance is' 'counteractcdby an auxniaryor' sealing' impeller which "is coj-a'xm and/rotatingfunitaryjwith thc-impeller shaft' ao whichf while rotating creates hydraulic pressure opposing the" tendency of leakage' of liquid"A or slurry through the annular gap'f when the A"pmlp stops running, the valve-member shifts'duc tothe spring-pressure'now closing fthe' gap; as the' h'ydraulic sealing'fpre'ssure" from the' auxiliary' iin-1 palier di'csdown along" with4 the disappearance' of the centrifugarforces` which:actuate'the'niecnamsm: p

such`4 a valve control" mechanism' from tias Patent 'No: 1,976,532 is jhjcrcin shown asf part of `use structural' and*I operational" enviroment" of this vvinvention,` but -the'detalsfof that mechanism per se d 'not constitute a" part"Qf'this invention.

The( best (embodiment or y' uns] invcntionow known' to us "isfdscribed herein by way ojf e`x'V ampie" bur 'itis I"netto loc' take'rjfas limiting loe-l oause obviously" changes `can 'bemadeftli'ereir so carrying' gell, of sii-Ilo constituents.A Such pumpsayoi'd: the use of afric- Leakage' of yliquidi 3 long as they do not depart from thescope of the appended claims, remembering, however, the patent law principle of equivalents. p

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a part-sectional longitudinal side view of the pump unit.

CII

rThe pump unit comprises a frame lmemberin the form of a casting .It which inturn comprises `the longitudinal body portion I I,Aan annular upright portion I2 rising from one end of the base portion anddening a Vplane extending transversely of the base portion, and further comprises a bearing-sustaining portion herein also termed a bearing lug I3 whichrises from the other end of the body portion I I.. Y

.. The pump..housing comprises a pair of halfshells I4 and I5 complementary to each other and fastenedto theannular upright portion I2 which thus forms an intermediate .portion of the housing. The one half-shell: I4 represents an inner housing portion herein. also termed the intake portion of the housing provided with an intake neck Ita (see Fig.. 3). The other half-,shell .I5 represents an outer housing portion herein also termed thedischarge portion of the housing which is provided with a discharge neck I5a (see Fig. 2) The intake portion of the housing is the low-pressure housingportion, while the outer or discharge portion is vthe highepressure housing portion..

The pair of the half-shells Id and I5 is fastened as by bolts to opposite sides of the upright portion I2, and an annular member It is inter- Vposed between the discharge housing portion i5 and the upright portion I2. The discharge housing shell I5 has lugsi'i whereby it is held to the upright portion i2 is by fastening bolts I8. These bolts are shownrto b-e spaced, for example, 9o degrees apart from one another, so that the discharge neck I5a can be adjusted (see Fig. 5) to different angular positions at 90 degree intervals.

The intake housing shell I4 has fastening bolts in the form or" countersunk screws I9 shown to be spaced from one another at 45 intervals so that the intake neck Ider can be adjusted angularly in accordance with that spacing of the bolts. The intake housing shell I4 resembles a hollow annular member open inwardly and havingr an inner vertical annular wall portion I8a held to the upright portion I2 by the countersunk screws I9, and surrounding the inner portion Ia of the intermediate annular member i6. The intake housing shell Id has an outerwall portion 2li provided centrally with an opening 2| into which fits and through which extends a shaft-carrying horizontally extending stationary structure collectively designated as 22. Thus the inner end of this shaft-carrying structure 22 is supported by the intake housing shell I4 through annular members M and M1 which in turn t into the opening 2 I, the members M and M1 being secured to structure 22 as by countersunk screws 2te.

The outer end o the structure 22 is supported by the bearing lug I3 upon which it is held down by a bearing cover 23 bolted to the lug. Longitudinally the position of the shaft-carrying structure 22 is iixed, although adjustably, relative to the frame member I0 and thus relative to the stationary parts of the pump unit by means of a stud 24 extending horizontally and parallel to the longitudinalaxis of the structure 22, the stud 24 being screwed tightly into the bearing lug I3 so as to be unitary therewith. The stud 24 in turn extends through a lug or forked lateral eX- tension 25 Vof the shaft-carrying structure 22, and a pair of nuts25a and 25b upon the stud engage the lug 25 thereby anchoring and xing the shaft-carrying structure 22 in an adjusted position relative to the stud 23 and thus relative to the base or stationary parts of the pump unit.

The shaft-bearing structure 22 extending into the intake housing shell I4 has sealing relationship therewith due to the provision of a packing gland 2S comprising a gland member 21 held in place and'under suitable pressure by retaining lugs 28 which in turn are held by screws 29 upon the intake housing shell I4.

An impeller 3G surrounded by the discharge housing shell i5 is mounted upon the outer end of an impeller` shaft 3l and secured thereon as by a retaining bolt 32.v This impeller is formed with and terminates rearwardly in an extended and widened or aring hub portion which constitutes an auxiliary or sealing impeller I having impeller blades B. The shaft is carried by a pair of ball bea-rings 33 and 34 provided within the structure 22. The structure 22 comprises a shaftbearing section 35 and a control section 38 containing the control devices for actuating the sealing means described further below. The shaftbearing section 35 comprises a cylindrical member 31 in which are mounted the ball bearings 33 and 34 which in turn carry the impeller shaft The control section 36 comprises a cage member 38 open at the bottom and having a flange connection 39 with the cylindrical member 31, and also comprises the control device proper indicated at C. The inner end of the cage member 38 is closed by annular member M which is marginallysealed against the intake housing shell I4 through the packing gland 26, and thus although removable represents la part of the inlet portion ofthe pump housing. The annular member M is nished oi inwardly, that is towards the interior of the pump housing by a contour face 42 so-termed because it provides the contour face 42 as part of the interior contour of the intake portion of the pump housing. The annular member M has an annular recess R into which extends and in which rotates the auxiliary impeller I, there being a clearance between the impeller and the member M.

lFacing the cage 38 the annular member M1 has` a valve seat 5G upon which engages an annular sealing valve member 5I which is axially shiftableto and from'its seat by the control mechanism C. This control mechanism cornprises a sleeve 52 xed upon the shaft 3i and formed at its outer end with a labyrinth iiange 53 formed outwardly with concentric labyrinth portions 54 and 55 lodging in corresponding annular recesses formed in or by the end portion 56 of cage 38.

The valve member 5| while axially slidable upon the sleeve 52, is unitary with a cup 51. A iiexible annular diaphragm or septum 53 interconnects the cup 51 with the sleeve 52 so that the cup constitutes a chamber 5B- which houses the centrifugal device proper that effects the shifting of the valve member 5I unitary with the cup 51.

A set of centrifugal weight members 59 (of which only one is shown) are carried by the sleeve 52 which in turn rotates with the shaft 3 l. These weight members are pivotally mounted as at (i so that their outer weighted ends 59a may swing outwardly due to centrifugal force set up by rotation of shaft 3|, while their inner ends 59b engage upon an internal spider 6I unitary with cup 57 and shift the cup together with the valve member away from the rpump housing against the pressure of a compression coil spring B2 confined between the spider 9|v and the labyrinth flange 53.

Operation member 58 deforms accordingly. all the while serving to protect the centrifugal mechanism within the cup against liquid that may leak past the annular valve seat of the pump when the valve opens or closes.

What We claim is:

1. A centrifugal pump comprising a body portion, an upright portion which is integral with and extends upwardly from said body portion, an opening in said upright portion. a pair of complementary housing portions in the form of halfshells, said half-shells being carried by opposite sides of said upright portion, one of said halfshells forming a discharge housing and the other half-shell forming an intake housing, a rotating 6 i impeller shaft extending through said intake housing shell and intosaid discharge housing shell, a center intakeimpeller lmounted on the discharge housing end of said shaft and rotatable therewith, an annular member disposed between said discharge housing shell and said upright portion and secured to one side of the upright portion, said annular member having a central portionA which extends through the opening in said upright portion and which telescopes within vsaid intake housing shell, the annular member having a central opening communicating with the intake housing and the impeller, thus providing an interconnecting passageway therebetween for conducting uid to said impeller.

2. A pump structure as defined in claim 1 in which the intake housing shell and the discharge housing shell are secured by equi-angularly spaced fastening means whereby the housing shells are angularly adjust-able relative to each other.

ELMER R. WILFLEY. JOHN L. ALDRED, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 681,389 Davidson Arug. 27, 1901 1,118,739 Carter Nov. 24, 1914 1,558,055 Smith Oct. 20, 1925 1,944,504 Geer Jan. 23, 1934 1,976,532 Wiley Oct. 9, 1934 2,013,455 Baxter Sept. 3, 1935 2,117,011 Pratt May 10, 1938 2,245,866 McLachlan June 17, 1941 2,272,454 Wilfley Feb. 10, 1942 2,477,079 Mueller July 26, 1949 

